I arrived in the US after graduating from a textile university in Manchester, England. I began my career working as a purchasing agent for Huntingdon Yarn Mill. About 14 years ago, I took a leap of faith and purchased the Mill. With 30 years of textile experience behind me, I am very proud to be a domestic manufacturer of textiles in the USA.

We here at Huntingdon are a team of 50 people who hope to continue our work for many more years to come. We are truly a family run business. Jesse, our Plant Manager, has been working in the textile industry most of his life. Barbara, our Office Manager, has been working at the company for over 25 years. Her mother, Loretta, has worked here for over 50 years before retiring three years ago. Barbara’s daughter also worked with us until three years ago. My wife, Fay, works with the Dye House as well as in our Marketing Department. My daughters, Ranna and Sarah, work in the office part time whenever they have time off from school.

As a family business, we stay true to several core values with suppliers and customers. We purchase raw materials from domestic manufacturers as much as possible; saving our supplier’s job in turn insures our own. There is a glorified desire among the American people for saving American jobs, but when it comes time to take action, we become reluctant to make the necessary changes.

Buying products from overseas may seem more cost-efficient, but the result is not necessarily more quality-efficient. Domestic Manufacturers are still making the best products in the world. However, if we do not take action now we will lose the valuable and accessible resources they provide. The most reliable wool and cotton spinners are still in the US. Believe it or not, our company is shipping Novelty yarns to China where they are made into garments before being shipped back to America.

Last year, we had a booth at the spin Expo show in New York City. Most of out young design visitors were surprised to know that there was still a textile mill operating in Philadelphia. At the same time, the large fashion companies are saying that their customers are demanding American made products. When I asked “Why are we not able to sell more of our products to internationally renowned American companies”, I was told that it was a set mentality. Designers who have a choice between an American-made product and a more expensive European product will vote against domestic manufacturing in the US under the false pretense that the quality is not as good.

I have no doubt that the given the opportunity, US manufacturers are capable of producing a product as good as or better than overseas suppliers. We can offer consistency and reliability as a result. This will provide American jobs, which will be good for all of us.

I would like to take this opportunity to prove that we can withstand the test of comparison.